In a time when spy books are inclined to bank on glamourous gadgets, over-the-top action, and superhero- spy characters, How to Train a Spy by B.W. Leavitt comes like a breath of fresh air and a pure adrenaline rush of a realistic spy novel. Based on the meticulous planning of intelligence operations and authentic training of operations, and the emotional abstractions of being undercover, the novel exposes the reader to a spell-bound and exciting read that is unlike any other genre today.
The central character in the novel is Brian Lewis, a simple New York State correctional officer whose life is taking a turn in the dramatic direction when two federal agents show up out of the blue. What ensues is a chain of events that send Brian to an underground intelligence base where he is informed that because of his background and experience he is being recruited for a top-secret operation, which involves a complete overhaul in his identity, talents and knowledge of the peril.
The only difference that makes How to Train a Spy unique is the high degree of realism that is put in the training sequences. Brian does not enter into being an operative in a day. Rather he is entangled in a rigorous multi-stage training regimen that replicates actual intelligence training- full of weapons training, surveillance techniques, escape, mind-setting, and the multi-layered skill of assuming a false identity. Since the accelerated Farsi sleep-learning to underwater mini-sub training behind the wall of a coastal bed-and-breakfast all the progression of Brian is well founded in the plausible.
The authenticity is not limited to training but also goes to the mission itself. Brian is assigned the mission of penetrating a secret Russian-Iranian black site that is building an electromagnetic weapon that is powerful and can incapacitate whole areas. He does not need to engage in any dramatic rescues or to single-handedly save the world, but to amass intelligence, a rather quiet yet incredibly important task in real-life operations. In order to achieve this, he switches into the role of a Russian officer and moves in a web of danger, secrecy and deception with calculated acumen.
The novel provides a very human approach to the price of being in espionage in addition to its exciting plot. Readers get to watch the emotional pressure that Brian is undergoing as he leaves his family on a false pretense, goes to train alone, and carries out a mission where he cannot be found or it is certain death. Such scenes of weakness bring these stories to a higher level, reminding the readers that no real spies are superhuman characters, but are rather humans who have to carry the burden of their decisions even when the mission is finished.
The detailed focus and devotion to realism that B.W. Leavitt puts into How to Train a Spy makes it a unique addition to the list of thriller, military and any other person who likes to understand the inner mechanism of the intelligence operations. The book is an adrenaline rush of global espionage as well as a remarkable insight into what it really means to become, and be, a spy.